Hungary's Orban: Western Europe is under migrant invasion

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Hungary's prime minister painted an apocalyptic view of Western Europe on Thursday, saying it was under a migrant invasion that will soon make a minority of native-born Europeans.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, speaking at a massive rally three weeks ahead of Hungary's parliamentary election, said Western Europe has surrendered with "its hands up" to the mass migration of people from Africa and the Middle East.

"The situation is that those who don't block migration at their borders will be lost. They will be digested slowly but surely," Orban, one of the nationalist politicians who has risen to power in Europe and been openly hostile to refugees and asylum-seekers.

"The youth of Western Europe will still live to see when they become a minority in their own country and lose the only place in the world to call home," he added.

Orban has made his policies to block immigration the near-exclusive focus of his campaign for a third consecutive term. He told the crowd in front of the Hungarian Parliament building that globalist powers were working with his domestic opposition to remove the fences he had built on Hungary's southern borders in 2015 to keep out migrants.

"Naturally, after the elections, we will avenge ourselves - moral, political and legal reparations," Orban said. "But now, we can't waste our energy or our time on this."

Orban made another of his steady attacks on George Soros, the Hungarian-American billionaire and philanthropist. Soros is seeking to impose his "open society" ideals on Europe and supports critics of the ruling party's government, the prime minister alleged.

Orban listed Soros among Hungary's historical foes - the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburgs and the Soviet Union.

"We ask that you to go back to America and make the Americans happy instead," he said.

The rally marked the 170th anniversary of the 1848 revolution against Habsburg rule. Orban's speech was preceded by what organizers called a "Peace March."

Many tens of thousands of Orban supporters took part in the anniversary event nominally organized by a pro-Orban civic group and held with the full support of Orban's Fidesz party.

Dozens of buses brought people from across the country to the march, which ended at Parliament's Kossuth Square.

Several opposition groups - including a coalition of left-wing parties, the far-right Jobbik party, the satirical Two-Tailed Dog Party and a student movement - held smaller rallies and remembrances in Budapest, the Hungarian capital.